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The Epistemic Value of Understanding

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Henk W. de Regt
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Abstract

This article analyzes the epistemic value of understanding and offers an account of the role of understanding in science. First, I discuss the objectivist view of the relation between explanation and understanding, defended by Carl Hempel and J. D. Trout. I challenge this view by arguing that pragmatic aspects of explanation are crucial for achieving the epistemic aims of science. Subsequently, I present an analysis of these pragmatic aspects in terms of ‘intelligibility’ and a contextual account of scientific understanding based on this notion.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 76 , Issue 5 , December 2009 , pp. 585 - 597
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

‡

I thank Hans Radder for comments on an earlier version of this article.

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